It is well known that passwords for secure accounts may be given either verbally or typed into a keypad and registered electronically to give users access, or to block unauthorized users from gaining access to accounts or other secure systems. These passwords include everything from a personal identification number (PIN) entered into a touchpad at an automatic teller machine (ATM), to a credit card number read when a credit card is swiped, to an account number and specific user data that is requested by a bank's customer service phone operator to validate a customer's identity in order to access the user's mortgage information over a telephone call.
Currently, physical signatures on paper or electronic keypads, entering of alphanumeric codes, fingerprint matching, retinal scanning or the answering of personal identification questions are the common methods that are used to validate the authenticity of an individual. The authenticity of an individual is validated to verify the identity of the individual, to conduct secure transactions, or to grant secure access to an area, venue, ticketed event, information or account.